Anthologies can be very tough to rate. I find that most anthologies have some stories that I like and some that don't work for me. This group of stories was surprisingly good. I loved a couple of the stories, liked a couple, and disliked only one story. I picked this short book up because I was in the mood for something a little different and I had planned to just read one story at a time in between other books. Once I started this book, I didn't want to read anything else - so much for my plan.

"The Deep End" by Robert McCammon - 4.5 Stars
I probably shouldn't admit that I haven't read anything by Robert McCammon before I read this story. I loved his writing. This story was such a great introduction to this anthology. I felt for the main character and was actually afraid for him. Such an original and interesting idea. I definitely need to read more from Robert McCammon soon.

"Interval" by Norman Prentiss - 3.5 Stars
Norman Prentiss is another author that I haven't had a chance to read. The focus of the families at the airport was so compelling. I was immediately pulled into this story but I must admit that I was a bit let down as the story ended.

"If These Walls Could Talk" by Shawtelle Madison - 5 Stars
I have read Shawntelle Madison's debut novel, Under My Skin, and absolutely loved it so I was really looking forward to this story in the grouping. I was not disappointed. It took a little time for everything to fall into place but as soon as things started happening in this story it was non-stop. The way this one ended really was creepy for me.

"The Night Hider" by Graham Masterson - 4 Stars
This is the first chance that I have had to read anything by Graham Masterson and I really enjoyed this story. I probably shouldn't admit that I have never read the Narnia series but I think fans of that series will be very interested in this story. I loved how he built on a basic, well known plot and made it so incredibly interesting.

"Whatever" by Richard Christian Matheson - 1 Star
I didn't care for this story at all. I found it to be confusing and pointless. I am still not really sure what happened. This is the longest story in the group and it was told in the most original way with lots of letters, songs, interviews, and memos. I quickly lost interest and felt confused for most of the story.
I love to sample the writing of authors I haven't had a chance to read by reading anthologies. I would definitely pick up a book by most of these authors after reading this compilation of stories. Some of the copyrights on the stories go back a few years but all of the stories were new to me and I really enjoyed the book as a whole. In fact, I actually liked this one better than the first volume, Dark Screams: Volume One. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

I received an advance
reader edition of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Hydra via Net Galley for the
purpose of providing an honest review.

Friday, February 27, 2015

One night, one time, nothing more.
That’s all it was supposed to be. They’d agreed their first night together
would be their only night together—and Minnesota Glaciers defenseman Dylan
Rylie was fine with that. Giant hickeys and claw marks on his ass had never
been his style, even if the very memory of Samantha Yates’s merciless sexual
energy gets him hard within seconds. He needs to focus on getting a better
contract, not mind-blowing orgasms.

One night, one time, nothing more.
Fresh off representing the US at the Games and with nowhere else to play,
Samantha gave in to one night of frantic passion with the Glaciers’ brawny
hotshot. She couldn’t get hurt—not if she controlled the outcome. And she
planned to leave Minnesota soon, anyway. She didn’t expect to be recruited to
coach Dylan after they’d gotten down and dirty.

When
brutal on-ice workouts lead to kinky locker room sessions and “one night” falls
by the wayside, Samantha insists on keeping things casual, despite Dylan’s
quiet hope for more. But when Dylan goes down—hard—and his career is in
jeopardy, Samantha is the first one by his side. What will it take to keep her
there after he’s healed?

Lynda Aicher has always loved to read. After years of
weekly travel implementing computer software into global companies, she ended
her nomadic lifestyle to raise her two children. Now her imagination is her
only limitation on where she can go and her writing lets her escape from the
daily duties as a mom, wife, chauffeur, scheduler, cook, teacher, volunteer,
cleaner and mediator. Find her at: http://lyndaaicher.com

Nikki’s the flamboyant rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Oblivion. He’s a sexy rock star man-whore who’s accustomed to a life of music, partying and a constant stream of girls that are ready, willing and able!

Trixie’s a feisty party girl who likes to have fun. She makes the most of her single lifestyle and happy-go-lucky attitude. But she’s also a hard-nosed business women who knows what she wants and goes out and gets it. She lives her life by the motto ‘Work hard. Play hard’.

Neither of them ‘do relationships’. But when their frequent hook-ups start to develop into something more they realize that the connection and pull between them is undeniable. The prospect of wanting more than just mind-blowing sex from each other is a total shock to both of them and it hits them like a bolt from the blue.

Can they change their partying ways and give in to the irresistible chemistry that sizzles between them? Do they even want to? And will their past catch up with them to prevent them from giving the whole relationship thing a proper try?

The first thing you need to know about me is that I
genuinely believe in true love and soul mates. I met my wonderful husband when
we were still at school. I was sixteen, he was seventeen, we are high school
sweethearts. Now more than twenty five years later, we are still very much in
love and are happily married with two beautiful children. We live in
picturesque New Zealand and I consider ourselves lucky to live in this
magnificent part of the world.

I do have a full time job, but in my spare minutes I enjoy
spending time with my family, cooking and reading. I’m an avid reader and tend
to chomp through a large volume of books, mainly in the romance genre. And of
course my other major ‘hobby’ is writing steamy rock star erotic romances!

I started writing in early 2014. After spending many years
writing business documentation, and constantly being inspired by numerous
romance novels, I decided to try my hand at fictional writing. After penning my
first scene I discovered that I enjoyed it immensely and so resolved to
continue with the rest of the story that was swirling in my imagination. That
story resulted in my first novel, Heaven Sent.

My Oblivion on Tour Series follows the five band members of
the hard rock group Oblivion. Each book in the series follows a different band
member and their quest for love.

Megan
Frampton’s Dukes Behaving Badly series is back, though this time it’s an earl
who’s meeting his match in this delightfully fun and sexy novella!

What’s
a lovely young woman doing asleep in his bed? Matthew, Earl of Selkirk, is
shocked to discover it’s his new housekeeper! She’s a far cry from the
gray-haired woman he expected. Matthew is no fan of surprises, and Annabelle
Tyne is pure temptation. Perhaps he shouldn’t have had her hired sight unseen.

Annabelle,
co-owner of the Quality Employment Agency, is no housekeeper, but she wasn’t
about to lose a potential client simply because there was no one to fit the
bill. Imagine her shock when the Earl arrives at his London townhome and she’s
awoken in the night by the most attractive man she’s ever seen.

Matthew
is a man who lives life by the rules, but sometimes rules are made to be
broken…and being bad can be very, very good.

Every once in a while I love to pick up a novella. It's not as big of a commitment as a full length book and often times the story is equally satisfying. As an added bonus, novellas are short so I can read them in a single sitting. This novella was such a nice little story that kept me entertained for part of an afternoon.

Annabelle is quite the character. She says exactly what she is thinking. When an Earl needs a housekeeper for only month, she takes the position because there are no housekeepers available at her employment agency. She meets her new employer in a most interesting manner shortly after starting the position.

Matthew lives life by the rules. He does what he is supposed to do and has his life planned out. He comes to London for the period of one month to help his uncle make an important business decision. Matthew doesn't seem bothered at all by Annabelle's chatter or her inability to cook. He soon wants all of Annabelle's attention.

This was a nice little story that was sometimes a bit silly. I didn't mind the silly but it did seem like the story tried a little to hard to be funny at times. I liked Annabelle and Matthew as a couple. I have read so many stories about Earls that are the center of attention so it was really nice to read about one that was more down to earth and studious. The scene where they meet for the first time was a lot of fun and I loved the fact that they were both equally affected. It was also very refreshing to have a female lead character who actually says what she wants.

I would definitely recommend this novella to fans of historical romance. This is the first opportunity that I have had to read Megan Frampton's writing but I plan to watch for other stories in the future.

I received an advance reader
edition of this book from Avon Impulse via Edelweiss for the
purpose of providing an honest review.

Author Info

Megan Frampton
writes historical romance under her own name and romantic women’s fiction as
Megan Caldwell. She likes the color black, gin, dark-haired British men, and
huge earrings, not in that order. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband
and son.

Jennifer Bernard, the USA Today bestselling author of the Bachelor Firemen series, scores another homerun with a brand-new series about sexy, single baseball players.

Playing for the Kilby Catfish is hotshot pitcher Caleb Hart’s last chance to salvage his career after a major league meltdown. But the day of his opener with the minor league team, Caleb strikes out with the gorgeous woman who is delivering a petition to run the unruly Catfish out of town. Now to stay in the lineup, Caleb will need to score big with the feisty brunette he can’t keep out of his thoughts.

After the nasty lies Sadie Merritt’s rich ex-boyfriend spread about her all over town, she’s lucky to have a job at all. She can’t afford to screw it up by falling for the player who is supposed to be helping her change the image of the fun-loving Catfish. But that’s easier said than done when Caleb’s voice alone is enough to make her pulse race. And when he surprises her with a mind-blowing kiss, she knows there’s no turning back.

Jennifer Bernard is the USA Today bestselling author of the Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriels series. She is a graduate of Harvard and a former news promo producer. The child of academics, she confounded her family by preferring romance novels to … well, any other books. She left big city life for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She’s no stranger to book success, as she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name not to be mentioned at family gatherings.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Aurora
Firenze lives a quiet life hiding in a junkyard. Her repair shop is the last
hope for gadgets and gizmos before they get tossed onto the trash towers.
Fortunately, Aurora can fix almost anything, including mages, though repairing
people with metal enchantments is highly illegal.

Edmund
Rallis, heir to the Rallis senate seat, has spent months hunting down his errant
enchantress. He’ll play every game he knows to win her back and entice her to
share the secrets she hides. But he’s inadvertently put her on the frontlines
of a new game, one with an opponent who’s determined to destroy Rallis
Territory and drive the Republic toward war. If the new enemy isn’t stopped in
time, Edmund will lose his enchantress again—and this time there won’t be
another chance.

Anise
Rae grew up among the cornfields and soybeans of Ohio, dreaming of being a
ballerina, an astronaut, and a romance writer. With no turn-out and a soul deep
love of chocolate, her ballerina dreams floated away as high as the moon,
equidistant with the astronaut aspiration. She stuck with writing. After 22 years,
she got the call. Or rather, she got the email. Syphon’s Song, a 2012 Maggie
Award of Excellence finalist, will be released March 3, 2014 from Lyrical
Press.

Now transplanted
to the South, Anise lives in Georgia with her family and a cast of characters that
flit around in her head. A select few of those imaginary people are ever so
grateful for their chance to escape into the real world of books. The remaining
characters, enough to form an army, still clamor for freedom.

Morgan
Carter witnessed her sister’s murder, has been turned into a werewolf and is
now raising her young niece. Then her fiance, Greyson Crawford, proves he wants
to be with her for the wrong reasons, and she knows her life couldn’t be any
stranger. Devastated, she retreats to her cozy house in the city with her
sister’s little girl, Lana. There, they’ll have normalcy, and maybe eventually,
even happiness.

But
Morgan’s the only living silver wolf. Her uniqueness—the ability to produce werewolf
offspring—means, without Grey’s protection, she’s unknowingly put herself and
Lana in deadly danger. Other werewolves want to claim her for their pack, and
she’s the easiest, most tempting prey ever.

When
they strike, Grey has to find her and rescue her before it’s too late. Not so
simple a task; he has only the uncontrollable beast inside him, Wolf, and an
unlikely pack of allies he’s forced to rely on. Can he get to her in time? And
if he does, can he convince her he’s there for the right reasons, saving them
both?

Born
and raised in small town Texas, Tera Shanley grew up in books. Her cousin
gifted her a signed copy of Beauty by Bill Wallace when she was young and that
was it for her. So smitten was she with getting lost in a story, that while
other eleven year olds her age were groaning at the accelerated reader program
in school, she was racking up the points just for fun.

Balancing chronic
book-wormyness is her devotion to the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, hiking,
horseback riding, camping - her soul is happiest out of doors. And lucky for
Tera, her family feels the same. She grew up a wild child helping her grandma
ranch cattle, and has a hundred memories out in the wilderness which tend to
influence her books.

When she's not
eating chocolate, slinging rifles, or soaking up some sun, she's lost in a
book, but these days it's more often one she's writing. From historic western
romance, to paranormal romance, to apocalyptic (zombie) romance, the genre
doesn't matter quite as much to her as the love story.

She currently
lives with her husband and two young children, and is owned by two crazy
mini-cujos.

Windburn by Juliette
CrossNightwing # 2
BlurbIn
the Gladium Province, the boundaries between humans and Morgons, the
dragon-hybrid race, continue to blur as a new generation surrenders to
long-forbidden temptation…

Sorcha Linden does whatever she wants
whenever she wants, and no one can stop her. Least of all a man. After all,
they’re good for only one thing—warming her bed. But then she meets Lorian,
brother of Lucius Nightwing. Seductive and iron-willed, Lorian is determined to
melt her emotional defenses—and warm her rebellious heart.

The beast within Lorian longs to cage
Sorcha and mark her as his own. Forever. Yet the man within also longs to
protect her. When a stalker starts leaving Sorcha suggestive gifts with cryptic
messages bearing an ancient blood cult symbol, Lorian’s dragon side takes over.
With her life at stake, Sorcha can no longer deny the love they share. But when
evil tracks her into the night, will she be too late to claim it?

Juliette Cross
calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home, where the landscape curls into her
imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in
creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education,
and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in
grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant
inspiration for her works. From the moment she read Jane Eyre as a teenager,
she fell in love with Gothic romance—brooding characters, mysterious settings,
persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to
read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own. Visit her
website at www.juliettecross.com.

Like most seventeen-year-olds, Piper Dunn
wants to blend in with the crowd. Having a blowhole is a definite handicap. A
product of a lab-engineered mother with dolphin DNA, Piper spends her school
days hiding her brilliant ocean-colored eyes and sea siren voice behind baggy
clothing and ugly glasses. When Tyler, the new boy in school, zeroes in on her,
ignoring every other girl vying for his attention, no one, including Piper,
understands why...

Then Piper is captured on one of her
secret missions rescuing endangered sea creatures and ends up in the same test
center where her mother was engineered. There she discovers she isn’t the only
one of her kind. Joel is someone she doesn’t have to hide from, and she finds
herself drawn to the dolph-boy who shares her secrets. Talking to him is almost
as easy as escaping from the lab. Deciding which boy has captured her heart is
another story.

Multi-published
author Sandra Cox writes YA fantasy, historic and paranormal romance and
metaphysical nonfiction. Sandra lives with her husband, a menagerie of pets,
and an occasional foster cat in sunny North Carolina. To see the brood go to
her website www.sandracox1.com and click on the cat tab.

About Me

I love all things books! I love talking about books, shopping for
books, reading books, and sometimes just looking at the pretty covers. I
am never without my kindle so that I will always have my books with me.